a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system and process for dispensing health care products. More specifically it relates to the dispensing of health care products, and especially solid health care products, from a wall mounted system by gravity discharge.
b) Discussion of the Prior Art
In the dispensing of medication and other health care products, there is a universally recognized problem of getting the prescribed amount of product to the recipient at the correct times. In many instances, if medication is not taken, or is taken at the wrong times, or is taken in an improper dosage, the medication may not function as prescribed or required. Such failures can be dangerous, and perhaps even fatal. The problem of taking or giving the correct medication at the right time is difficult for many people, and they quite often forget to take or to give medication at the proper times. This can be a particular problem for elderly people whose memory is not what it once was, or for any person required to take or to give multiple or different medications during the course of the day, and day in and day out.
Medication, particularly antibiotics, are of the greatest benefit, if they are taken at the prescribed intervals and in the prescribed amounts, for the prescribed period of time. Typically, a user who is to take a medication at four hour intervals, takes the medication at intervals of from two hours to eight hours. Often, as a patient begins to feel better, the medication is not taken at all. The patient may then relapse if all of the medication has not been taken. Consequently, it can be seen that there is a need to provide an apparatus and a method to prevent this situation.
In addition to the need to be able to control the dosage of medication and the time for taking such medication, there is also the problem of limiting access to the medication by infants and children. Infants and children can often get access to medication stored in drawers or cabinets, or even those placed on top of cabinets or dressers. For a child too young to know that medication is dangerous, access to that medication should be prevented.
The prior art solutions to aforementioned problems are shown generally by Graves U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,611 issued on May 27, 1980; Messer U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,580 issued on Mar. 4, 1986; Helbich U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,492 issued on Dec. 27, 1988; Denney U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,085 issued on June 7, 1988; McLaughlin U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,042 issued on Jan. 5, 1988; and Christiansen U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,810 issued on Aug. 16, 1988. Graves U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,611 shows an apparatus for manually and chronologically dispensing tablets which is designed to sit horizontally on top of a flat surface. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,573,580 and 4,793,492 and 4,749,085, teach compartmented pill dispensers with individual covers which are designed to control intake and to prevent overdoses. These dispensers, however, cannot be mounted vertically, and do not have a gravity discharge system for dispensing the medication. U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,085 teaches a medication dispenser with individual compartments which can be marked to show the time to take the medication, but as with the other above mentioned art, this patent can neither be mounted vertically, and does not have a gravity discharge system for dispensing the medication. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,717,042 and 4,763,810 teach medical dispensers with compartments and timers. These dispensers are not capable of vertical mounting and are very complicated and expensive.
Other prior art which discloses medication dispensers includes Moe U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,559 issued on Nov. 9, 1971; Helbich U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,695 issued on Apr. 18, 1978; and Keffeler U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,445 issued on Feb. 8, 1983.
It is thus seen that it would be desirable to have a simple and inexpensive system for dispensing health care products which can be mounted vertically, and while in that position, selectively opened for a gravity discharge of the medication.